New Learnings pt. II
Hello Friends!
This week – some thoughts on introversion from the author of “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking,” a feature I discovered that puts (some) of your data back into your hands, and a book on Islam and whether it’s truly at odds with western values or not.
1. Podcast I Listened to
Susan Cain was the guest on Tim Ferriss’s long-form interview podcast, How to Overcome Fear and Embrace Creativity. As the author of a best-selling book and a world-famous Ted Talk speaker on the power of the introverts, Cain specializes in how western culture misunderstands and undervalues these people. This two-hour podcast is well worth a listen as Cain walks the listener through how she, an introvert, left a wall street law job to take up creative writing.
Source: Ted
Here are 2 snippets from the episode that I really loved:
Cain’s response to a question on the difference between introverts and extroverts:
Introverts have nervous systems that react more to all the incoming stimuli, and so that means that we’re at our most alive and happiest and switched on when things are a little more chill around us…And extroverts have the opposite situation and the opposite liability because, for an extrovert, you’ve got a nervous system that’s reacting less to stimulation. And that means when you’re in an environment that you find too quiet, you start to get really listless and checked out.
Cain on how not to always think about monetizing your passions (writing in her case)
If you have that kind of a creative dream and a creative love, you have to do everything you can not to spoil it with the pressures of paying the rent and all those other things, or the pressures of needing to derive professional status from it. I set up a little side business teaching people negotiation skills. And that was how I was paying the rent.
2. Cool Data Privacy Feature I Discovered
We all know Facebook and data privacy don’t exactly go hand in hand, but to their credit (better late than never, right? eh) they rolled-out a new feature that allows users to track what they are calling “Off Facebook Activity.” What the hell does that even mean?
Well, what we often don’t realize is that apps and websites that we visit (even when we DONT “Log in via Facebook”) share our information with Facebook to display “targeted ads” on our Instagram and Facebook feeds.
Essentially, this tool allows us to view third-party apps which share data with Facebook and even allows us to disconnect these apps from our accounts.
Here’s a small sample of the websites (out of a ridiculous 520 apps in total!) that “curate” my news feed:
Million-dollar question: Would I stop seeing ads if I disconnect?
Nope! They just won’t be creepily “targeted.”
3. A Book I Keep Revisiting
My introduction to Reza Aslan, an Iranian-American author who has written multiple books on Islam and Christianity, was through a video that went viral where he silenced a Fox News Correspondent (gotta love these!) who confronted Aslan on writing a book on Jesus as a Muslim. Yet what compelled me to pick up “No God but God,” was my deep skepticism towards Sam Huntington’s theory called the “Clash of Civilizations”, i.e. Islam and Western values have nothing in common, and looking for alternatives to this theory.
Source: Roanoke College
While clearly written for a Western audience, I thought Aslan did a terrific job of putting the origins of Islam in context before stating present day problems that the religion and those who practice it face. A theme he reiterates throughout the book is the idea that Islam is not at odds with western thought or theology but in fact is going through a process of “Reformation” where Muslims are trying to figure out what sect/brand of Islam encompasses the essence of the faith. The same idea in Aslan’s words:
Fourteen hundred years of rabid debate over what it means to be a Muslim; of passionate arguments over the interpretation of the Qu'ran and the application of Islamic law; of tribal feuds, crusades and world wars- and Islam has finally begun its fifteenth century.
While agreeing with Aslan on the confusion faced by Muslims, I believe religious reformation has more to do with the socio-economic realities of major parts of the Middle East, South Asia and South-East Asia, than the time that has passed since Islam became a religion. The injustice and inequality that exists is enough to garner support for your brand of Islam that promises a better tomorrow.
4. Shower Thoughts of the Week
Here are this week’s shower thoughts (via Reddit):
Roller coaster parks can take a clear picture of you on a roller coaster at 75 miles per hour, but bank cameras can't get a clear picture of a thief standing still.
Hand sanitizer is good for letting you know how many small cuts you have on your hands. The colder the water given to you to drink, the more you trust it.
‘ASAP’ sounds so much more urgent than ‘As Soon As Possible’ when put into a proper sentence.
That’s all for this week!
Cheers,
Rohail
More of one thing, less of the other? Comment here or reach out on Twitter (@rwk93) - Instagram (ro.khan)